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Day #150: Outcast (2010)

When Petronella meets Fergal, she’s unaware that their budding relationship will bring her face to face with a dangerous Beast.

My take:

A mix of tired old cliches and some fascinating lore, Outcast is a movie with a lot of potential that it never quite lives up to – much to my disappointment.

I found myself completely disinterested in the fates of Petronella (Hanna Stanbridge) and Fergal (Niall Bruton). It’s not really Stanbridge and Bruton’s fault, though. They did a fine job with the material that they were given, but it became clear very early on that a) that material wasn’t great, and b) there were much more interesting stories to be told.

In contrast, I was interested in the story of Mary (Kate Dickie), who managed a creepy intensity as Fergal’s overbearing and (over?)protective mother. Even her weirdly incestuous vibe didn’t take away from the fact that she was the most intriguing character of the movie. I even found myself wishing that they’d reframed the movie to focus more on her, and whatever had brought her to this point in her life. Dickie clearly would’ve been able to handle taking on the lead.

Doing this might have also given them more of an opportunity to explore the lore behind the movie’s story, too. Because, as it stands, there were a lot of questions left unanswered at the end of the movie; and while that’s not necessarily a problem in and of itself, I can’t help but feel like it was a wasted opportunity. Sure, we did get to see plenty of magic, and the design of the big bad was pretty cool, but, well…I just wanted more, damn it.

How about a sequel, John McKay? Or, better yet, a prequel. And this time, dump the Romeo and Juliet romance crap, so we can focus on the good stuff.